


Another Side

by GirlKnownSomewhere



Category: The Monkees (Band), The Monkees (TV)
Genre: 1990s, Band Fic, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, F/M, Ficlet, First Dates, Flirting, Kissing, Making Out, Older Man/Younger Woman, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26533618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlKnownSomewhere/pseuds/GirlKnownSomewhere
Summary: Peter & Julianna's first date goes even better than either were anticipating.
Relationships: Peter Tork/OFC
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Another Side

**Author's Note:**

> Not much to note this time around other than I just love writing these two together. 😌 Happy reading and happy weekend! 💞💫 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Monkees' brand or image (I kind of, sort of own 'Julianna' lol)

One-shot: Another Side

San Francisco, November 1993

Julianna lowered her hand after placing the fourth and final pin in her thick, curly hair to grab her mascara. She was getting ready for a date—her first since her previous relationship ended going on six weeks ago. And add to that, it was also with the oldest man she’s ever gone out with for a date. She didn’t really have a problem with age, but she did keep wondering what her family and friends would think if she actually did start regularly seeing someone older. If it ever actually got to that point anyway. Julianna was impressed that Peter, said date, had offered to take her to a French restaurant rather than someplace more laid back. If she could go the rest of her life without a first date being set at an Italian restaurant just out of assumption from her family background, she would not mind at all. So he was already making another good impression after meeting a little over a week ago.

For the dinner that night, the NorCal librarian chose to wear a simple black blouse, a dark blue, long denim skirt, light brown boots, a dark brown belt and a basic, short necklace around her neck. She kept it easy make-up wise, with just a beige colored lipstick, mascara and a subtle use of eyeliner. Julianna hadn’t actually ever eaten at a French restaurant in the past, but she had driven and walked by enough to know some of them weren’t exactly ritzy. Yet when she and Peter showed up to the restaurant, she still wondered if she might be underdressed, with the music, design and general atmosphere coming across as sophisticated. But if the music artist had been a customer before, he wasn’t too worried about any supposed dress code, with himself in a casual ensemble of jeans, blue blazer, white buttoned-up shirt and sneakers.

“Nice place,” she commented as she took off her coat once they walked to their table.

“Yeah, this is one my favorite spots,” he revealed pleasantly.

“Oh, so you come here a lot?” Julianna asked after taking a seat opposite him.

“Well, not usually on my own, heh,” he clarified. “But it’s a good place for a dinner date.” He took a sip of the water glass in front of him.

“Ah, right,” she said as she placed her coat and bag on the back of her chair. “It’s impressive. You might have to give me some recommendations on what to order,” she suggested.

Peter chuckled in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah. A first date with me is more along the lines of a burger joint or Italian,” she confessed dryly.

“Well, those sound fun too,” he insisted. “I just meant that you give off this worldly aura. I figured this would be your kind of thing.”

“Oh…thanks.” Julianna didn’t expect the flattering assumption and felt herself possibly blush. “Do you have French ancestry or do you just appreciate the culture?”

“The latter,” he replied with a smile. Before the conversation could continue, their waiter appeared and asked for their drink orders. Julianna opted for a white wine, but then felt slightly awkward when she discovered Peter was completely sober. He didn’t appear to mind though, and even complimented her on her preference. Eventually the brunette ended up choosing a simple onion soup for her first ever French dish and Peter ordering a seafood quiche. Julianna wasn’t completely confident with how the night might go when she was preparing in her bathroom earlier. She did enjoy previously speaking with Peter at the community center and the next day at the city park, but those were mainly friendly interactions. It wasn’t until they thought to skip ahead to their next meeting being a legitimate date that she started getting the anxious/excited feeling when you make plans with someone you like. But that feeling quickly turned to just excitement the more they conversed throughout the dinner. Peter had a naturally endearing and sympathetic quality that made it easy to feel comfortable around him. He didn’t seem to think it was odd that she was pushing 30 and still not settled down or with a family like other people around her age. Going out with a divorced older man might have been a turn-off to her in the past, but right now it barely made a difference with how much she was appreciating his company. Never mind the fact this was her first date since former boyfriend Darrell moved to Washington, but it was practically her first time socializing with someone outside of work in over a month too. Julianna wasn’t a huge music fan, but she discovered earlier at the park that Peter shared her taste for mystery and suspense novels, as well as historical fiction and non-fiction, which was a nice surprise. The two were clearly from different generations, yet could speak like they had known each other for years in just the short amount of time.

By the time their plates were cleared from the table, the pair chose to skip dessert with Julianna ordering tea instead, and Peter coffee. Mid-drink the former excused herself to use the restroom and also check her make-up in the mirror. When she returned, she paused in front of her seat once she found Peter already signing the check for their meals. “Oh…”

He looked up from his pen and grinned at her. “Sorry. Old fashioned habit I still haven’t kicked.”

“No, it’s fine—really,” she clarified, not wanting to sound ungrateful. “I’ve had guys pay for me before, I just…I guess I forgot to ask when you picked me up how we should end the night.”

Peter set the pen down once he finished his signature. “Tell you what, you can pay on the next date to even it out if you like,” he offered then took a sip of coffee. “You want to stick around a bit longer or try a new location?” He asked while putting his jacket back on.

She thought about the options for a moment before grabbing her coat. “Let’s head out.” 

The car ride back home was pleasant enough with the two continuing to chat and occasionally comment on the city route as Peter drove. “You know…we’re actually going to drive by my house on the way to your apartment,” he revealed after ten minutes on the road. “If you want to maybe just want to hang there instead of another public place.”

Depending on the date, this could easily be a guise for suggesting sex. But for whatever reason, Julianna still felt completely safe and comfortable with him, even with the obvious suggestion. She believed he could mean his words literally and not just as a come on. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

Fifteen minutes later they were entering Peter’s home right outside the city in a nice, middle class neighborhood. She liked that he had an ordinary, non-glamorous, two-story house. Though she also considered that if he still wanted a flashy environment he could have just stayed in SoCal. The musician gave her a small tour of the residence, featuring the living room, backyard, music room, dining room and upstairs sans the bedrooms, before they made it back to the living room. The younger woman lazily placed her bag and coat on the couch. “It’s basic, but I always preferred keeping it homey over something snazzy,” he ended the mini-tour with.

“I like it,” she insisted while casually crossing her arms. “It’s the kind of house I would live in if I could afford it.”

He nodded for lack of a better response, but kept his smile. After a silent beat, Julianna spoke again. “Look, I should let you know I generally don’t do it on a first date,” she finally confessed just to get the idea out of the way.

“Oh, that’s fine,” he stressed with a slight worry in his voice that he might have given off the opposite impression. “No obligation or anything—obviously,” he emphasized again with a friendly smile.

“Great…” She agreed and let a few more silent moments linger before rapidly pulling him forward by the neck and giving him a passionate kiss. The older man was naturally caught off guard from the abrupt motion for a quick second before wrapping his arms around her and returning the kiss just as warmly. Julianna raised her other hand to his neck as she continued to deepen the passion. Her emotions suddenly took over as she was reminded how great it felt to be held and wanted physically. This was not only her first kiss in nearly two months, but also the first time her body had been touched intimately, even by herself. More from disinterest than because of any grief from losing a lover. She just didn’t feel in a hurry sexually right after such a committed relationship. But now the sudden, sporadic impulse confirmed her earlier hunch of how they not only have a personal connection, but also a physical attraction. Julianna let her right hand run through his auburn hair before letting both hands drop to crossover each other as they wrapped around his shoulders. Peter’s own hands lowered from her sides to her hips as a sigh escaped his lips while experimenting with adding a mild amount of tongue to the affection. Julianna accepted it gladly and felt herself even moan a bit in response. She underestimated how good this was going to feel. She paused her actions briefly to let her hands wander from his shoulders to embrace his back. Peter did the same to pull her into a tighter hug before running his hands up and down her back as they continued to kiss.

There wasn’t sex, but the pair did get a bit familiar with each other’s bodies once they made it to the living room couch. In between kissing and caressing, Peter and Julianna would chat tranquilly and randomly to each other, and Julianna even revealed the rest of her life goals and hopes. The latter couldn’t remember the last time—if there even that—when she enjoyed a date this much with someone relatively new in her life. She didn’t even think she was too tired until she closed her eyes for a big yawn, and then was next awakened to the sound of a toaster popping. She blinked slowly a few times before looking around her surroundings to find she was still on Peter’s couch, but now with an additional blanket covering her. She pushed her body forward and glanced to her left to see Peter moving around the kitchen. He was now completely dressed in a fresh set of clothes of a plain red T-shirt and jeans. Julianna then looked down at her current attire from the night before. Her long skirt was scrunched up to thighs under the blanket and her blouse untucked with the top two buttons undone. She found her boots by the front door when she stood up to walk into the kitchen after straightening out her clothes. She entered the new room without saying anything until Peter noticed her. “Good morning!” He greeted cheerfully and set down a plate of plain toast he had just finished buttering. Next to him on the stove appeared two pans of eggs: one omelet, the other scrambled. “I wasn’t sure what eggs you might like, so I made two pans,” he revealed lightly and handed her the toast once she took a seat at the kitchen countertop after she noticed there were two high-top chairs. The clock on the microwave showed ‘8:25 AM.’

“Thank you,” she said graciously as she buttoned the top of her shirt then began taking out the now messy hair pins in her hair. “I’ll have the scrambled,” she replied as she placed the four pins in her skirt pocket. 

“You want some juice?” He offered as he took out an orange juice carton from the fridge and then two glasses from a cabinet. 

“Water’s fine,” she responded simply. After pouring himself some OJ, he filled her glass with water from the kitchen faucet. Julianna assumed the tap water in his neighborhood might taste better than the kind in her apartment building. Her assumption was correct after her first sip.

Peter passed her a plate of scrambled eggs while he went with the omelet. They peacefully enjoyed their food for a few quiet minutes with Peter on the opposite end of the counter, choosing to stand while eating so he could face her. “I had a blast last night,” he eventually said with a smile forming after eating about half of the omelet. 

Julianna felt her cheeks heat a little as she swallowed a bite of toast. “I did too,” she agreed with her own genuine smile. He exhaled happily in relief and took another bite before they both heard the phone ringing in the house. 

“Oh, excuse me.” Peter left the kitchen to answer the incoming call in the living room. While he was gone, Julianna finished eating her eggs and second piece of toast then studied her current appearance. To anyone outside who might see her, she definitely had a ‘walk of shame’ look, even if that technically wasn’t the case in reality. She sighed and ran a hand through her bed-ridden (or more couch-ridden) curls and placed her chin in her palm as her elbow was propped up on the counter. She next wondered how her face must look since she didn’t properly wash off the make-up last night. Half a minute later, Peter returned to the kitchen. “Not that I want to sound like I’m kicking you out, but…since the second half of our date wasn’t particularly planned, I failed to mention that I actually have a rehearsal today,” he informed cautiously. Julianna was surprised, but not worried at the new information. “We had plans to practice for most of the day…” He drifted hoping she would catch the hint.

“Oh…you’re saying you can’t drive me home,” she finally understood.

“Yeah, heh. I definitely would otherwise, but don’t worry for a second because I’ve got you covered,” he revealed while passing forward a small notecard with a phone number and company name on the front. “I called you a cab to drop you off.” 

Julianna noticed under the notecard was a $20 bill and paused at the implication. “…Um…”

Peter’s grin suddenly disappeared. “Or you can pay for the ride if you want,” he hastily offered.

“I think I would be more comfortable with that,” she concurred. 

“I was—I didn’t want you to feel bad for leaving alon—”

“You’re okay,” she interrupted. “It’s just…I’ve never…done this before,” she admitted vaguely with her hand motioning toward her rumpled clothes. 

Peter smirked subtly at her suggestion. “I wouldn’t lose sleep over it too much. I don’t think many paparazzi are roaming this side of town,” he teased supportively.

Julianna hadn’t even considered that possibility, but his response also made her relax a little and feel less self-conscious about leaving the house in yesterday’s clothes. Plus it’s not like she knew anyone in this neighborhood anyway. “Well, that’s a good point too,” she ultimately concluded with a soft smile. He stepped in front of her and squeezed her hand before gently kissing her lips. Even though it was just a chaste peck, her heart instantly skipped a beat and she released a happy sigh. 

“I’ll call you tonight,” Peter told her and gave her hand another squeeze before turning to go upstairs. 

“Alright,” was all she responded with her smile widening each moment. Once he was out of sight, she inhaled deeply and grabbed the notecard with the taxi info before heading to the restroom to make herself look as presentable as possible for her route back home.


End file.
